Checa's thoughts on his Ducati 1198 and WSBK

Although most Brit journos are Fireblade fans or nuts for Honda V-4s of yore, they aren't without sympathy for Ducati's racing history. After all, Ducati helped make King Carl Fogarty a British Motorsports icon.

The author of this particular web blurb was probably trying to be 'fair and balanced' when it wasn't necessary to be so.

On the point of Checa's comments - that weight penalty was clearly meant to reduce the competitiveness of the 1198. They went too far and didn't go back to less weight when the results obviously justified it. That's a good reason to complain. That said, I doubt if it was politically motivated as Checa claims.

So, NSP, was the actual weight added to keep 'Checa in Check' in 2012, or were Ducatis in general too competitive in 2011? The weight penalties are supposed to be added to brands, not specific teams, but I don't recall a Ducati dominance in 2011 aside from Checa. Viewed in that light, I can sympathize with Checa's feeling this was 'political'

NSP said:

... do what Honda did and bring a 4 cylinder to the table and beat the other guys at their own game...

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Honda only raced a V-Twin reluctantly in order to compete with Ducati back when fours were limited to 750cc and twins could be 1000cc. They went straight back to fours and dropped their V-Twin like a hot rock the instant 1000cc fours were allowed. I wouldn't doubt it was Honda keeping the pressure on to weight-penalize the 1200cc Ducs so Honda won't need to field another twin. Honda wants to either use a V-4 or an I-4, because that's what they can sell. If Aprilia is too successful with their V-4 (and they've got two titles now), expect Honda to roll out their own.

NSP said:

... With Biaggi out, I see Checa/Melandri/Sykes for the title....Sykes really has the ZX-10R dialed in and I think 2013 will be his year ...

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Sykes is fast and has become the top qualifier, but he's not great at riding on worn tires at race end. Unless he can improve there, he'll win a few but will have to settle for podiums at most rounds. He'll be consistent I think, so unless someone else steps up to dominate, he may win the title in the way Hayden did his MotoGP crown in 2006.

NSP said:

... I don't have the exact answer for each bike to make it fair across the grid but I believe it is pretty close.

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Let's see what happens with the 1199. As far as I've heard it will start the season without weight added. Should be fast, then.

NSP said:

I am confused....was it competitive with the weight penalty or did the added weight take the Ducati out of the running? I think the 1199 will be a great track bike....it just will not crash well!!

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The 1098/1198 was still competitive in that Checa could put it in the top five, but the added weight did effect the bike to the point it took away the possibility of regular podiums or wins. Carlos is a top rider and a correct rules balance should allow him the real possibility of winning.